MARTA is exploring the potential for providing transit buses or train service along a 12-mile stretch of GA 400 from Dunwoody to Alpharetta in north Fulton County, which would be the first expansion of the system since 2000.
The agency has filed a notice that it will study the corridor to the Federal Transit Administration. The first public hearing on the plan is to be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Sept. 26 at Alpharetta City Hall.
The plan could involve adding bus rapid transit service. Or, it could involve extending the line from the existing North Springs MARTA station to Windward Parkway, with as many as six stations from north to south including: Northridge, Holcomb Bridge, Mansell Road, North Point Mall, Old Milton and Windward Parkway.
A third option is to build heavy rail, which would include all but the station at Old Milton.
MARTA initiated an analysis of the Georgia 400 corridor in late 2011, seeking to expand its services along a highway that has become the backbone of one of the fastest-growing residential and commercial areas in the region.
Currently transit service in the area is limited to two bus routes operated by the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA) and a MARTA line that ends at the North Springs station. MARTA Bus service primarily functions as feeder service to MARTA heavy rail stations from areas including Roswell, Alpharetta and Milton. A number of the bus routes and the MARTA heavy rail stations also service park-and-ride facilities.
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